The hint of Spring and perfect dry, still conditions meant a bumper turnout this week of 277 - our highest number for several months. The summer road racing season is of course fast approaching and there are few better races than Bramhall 5k to test your fitness!
Numbers will likely remain high over coming weeks so if you haven't done so already do please print off your personal barcode which ensures we can process results quicker on the day. I'm sure you'll agree that the barcodes have considerably quickened things up in the finishing funnel in recent months.
As for the run there were some familiar faces at the front as Rob Downs took an easy victory (just for a change!) while behind him William Hardman and Paul Capey had a good battle for second with William just edging ahead. However Paul recorded yet another PB on his 46th outing by just one second! But, as they say, a PB is a PB!
In fact the good conditions lent themselves to plenty of personal bests today, many from runners who have been to Bramhall many times which just goes to show that there is always room for improvement.
In the ladies race newcomer Cat Lawson from Rossendale Harriers was first home in 20.29
from Stockport junior Nicola Berry and Emma Vernon from Dulwich Runners. Meanwhile we welcomed another 33 first timers this week and we hope you enjoyed the experience and will come back for more.
Good to see so many of you in the cafe afterwards this week too. Don't forget there's no better way to warm up after the run and chat about your performances (or maybe not about running!)
Enjoy your running and see you all next week.

 

The Sweatshop prize winner for February is ... KATE THOMPSON!!

Kate has run 15 times since October.  Her first finish was in a respectable 33 minutes but since then she has gradually improved.  This month she has shot forward again with a 2 minute improvement to 24 minutes.  So in the course of the winter Kate has gone from near the back to well into the top half.

Other contenders for the prize this month were Steve Davies, Graham McCarthy (again), Ian Richardson, Ellen Downs and Gavin Brown who have all shown perserverance to get faster despite the wintery conditions. Well done to them all and hopefully they can keep the improvement going into 2010. Meanwhile, congratulations to Kate who wins a new pair of running shoes fitted by the experts at Sweatshop.  Our nearest Sweatshop stores are Hyde and Arndale Centre.

Sweatshop are a major sponsor of the parkrun organisation and every month generously provide this prize for a runner of any standard who has performed well in the month and shown overall improvement and commitment to the parkrun. Thanks to Sweatshop owner Hugh Brasher for his continued support of our work in grassroots athletics.

 Bramhall parkrun 6th March 2010

We're all looking forward to another fun run tomorrow.  The forecast is for another freeze overnight but we have contingency plans to run the alternative route if necessary so at this point are confident that we will run.

It looks like it will be chilly for the start at 9.00am so please:

Run carefully expecting plenty of mud and possibly icy patches.

Bring warm clothes for after the run - leave them near the start in a plastic bag.

Bring a drink - you still get thirsty on a cold day.

Remember to bring your BARCODE - much faster and more accurate for us to process - so less hanging about in the cold for us all. 
 

New runners are always made very welcome but please register and read the course notes carefully.Please always hand in the position tokens at the results desk and bring back any that you've accidentally taken home!

Can My Kids Run Bramhall parkrun?

At the parkrun there is no minimum age limit but all under 14s should be accompanied by an adult who remains responsible for them throughout the event.

Please keep your child with you and help them through the start and run together – unless they are already experienced athletes.  There is a danger if kids start in front on the start line. Our inclination is to let them stand in front of us but this only works if they are faster up the hill (some are, some aren't).  When children are at the front who we don’t recognise as athletes we will try to move them back with their parents or at least over to one side to improve their safety.

If your kids want to try running then you can be sure that everyone will respect their efforts.  It is up to you to assess whether your child is fit enough and will enjoy the event and to ensure that they are not under any pressure.

The park is small and the course is an hourglass shape so it is also possible to see runners several times during the race by walking between key points.  However please remember that we are not responsible for looking after your children and that you need to supervise them as you would on any trip to a public park.  The usual course is traffic free and entirely within the park(*)

Please bring water and warm clothes for after the run.

(*) Please note that the "winter alternative" route (run only if the usual route is too icy) has a 50m section that is on the pavement just outside the park fence.

You should also be aware that UK Athletics considers 5k too far for under 14s to “race”.  So children should treat the parkrun purely as a “fun run” i.e. enjoy the exercise with no pressure to finish in any time or position.  Children should always stop if they experience any discomfort.  Many children will prefer to run just 1 lap and this is perfectly OK.

To the delight of many we were able to return to our faster "classic" course this week as the ice just about stayed away for the first time in many weeks. And many of you clearly enjoyed the return by posting PBs - infact dozens of you recorded best times this week so all that winter training is clearly paying dividends!
Definitely worth starting with the ladies this week as newcomer Nabilah Salihi from Spectrum Striders Running Club posted a cracking 19.29 to place her 12th in the race and 11th on the all time ladies rankings for Bramhall. Behind her on the ladies podium this week was regular Sally Johnston who posted a new PB on her 21st outing with a time of 22.42 while Carol Hatch was third lady.
First home in the overall race this week was Phil Wood in 17.13. Phil has only run Bramhall once before, just over a year ago, and he won then too! In an exciting sprint finish for second Stuart Price just held off Daniel James, both of whom have recently started coming down to Bramhall. Meshal Abushal, who has posted consistent sub 20 minute times over many months, is worth a mention too for completing his 50th run in 5th. Stockport vet 50 Tim Hargreaves recorded the best age graded performance of the day.
Great to see so many of you helping out for the first time today too - we had lots of eager new volunteers this week which was fantastic and really in the spirit of parkrun. We hope you all enjoyed the experience on the other side for once.
Special thanks to Emma from Lucozade for visiting us this week, and a special mention must go also to Matthew Hack who compiled the results this week straight after running. From experience I know how much of a job this is so special thanks Matthew for getting the results all online in good time - we hope you enjoyed the challenge!
Enjoy your running and see you all next week.